The Issue of Hunger in Central Texas
Far too many Central Texans face hunger every day. One in five adults and one in four children are at risk of hunger, which means they are unable to meet basic nutritional needs due to a lack of resources. Forty-one percent of our clients are children.

How Your Donation Helps
In its 29th year of service, the Food Bank provides food and grocery products to nearly 48,000 people each week. The Food Bank distributes a majority of its food through 350 Partner Agencies which include soup kitchens, emergency food pantries, shelters, senior centers, low-income daycare facilities, youth programs, rehabilitation centers, emergency relief organizations, and many other groups. Your donation helps save these agencies more than $35 million annually in food purchases.

In addition to providing food to CAFB Partner Agencies, the Food Bank implements targeted programs for those most in need in the community, including (but not limited to) Kids Cafe, the Healthy Options Program for the Elderly (HOPE), the CHOICES Nutrition Education program, Fresh Food for Families, the Wheels of Sharing Mobile Food Pantry, and SNAP (Food Stamps) Outreach and Education.

The Food Bank provides more than 23 million pounds of food each year to nourish nearly 300,000 hungry Central Texans. And for every $5 donated, CAFB provides $25 of nutritious food. Charity Navigator, America’s largest independent evaluator of charities, awarded the Food Bank the highest rating – four gold stars – for managing donations efficiently and effectively. Nearly 97 percent of all donated resources are returned to the community in programs and services.

Real Story: Janice

“Visiting food pantries is new to me,” explains Janice, 64. “Before moving to Texas my income was a little better, but I moved to be my father’s caregiver.” Janice heard about the “Wheels of Sharing” Mobile Food Pantry at Turner Roberts Recreation Center from several neighbors.

Janice, a retired insurance underwriter lives on her “modest” retirement savings. “The food I receive here helps supplement my food stamp supply for the month,” she says. “The food here is extremely important to me. I don’t have any health coverage, so I try to eat healthy – the food I receive here is very healthy,” says Janice. “I usually get staple items such as onions, potatoes, pasta and meat.”

“In the past I was one of these volunteers, and now I am on the other side of the spectrum,” explains Janice. “These food pantries are very important because there are so many people in need during these hard economic times. There is quite a diversity of people here; lots of senior citizens and single mothers.”

Janice encourages everyone who needs help to visit a food pantry. “The atmosphere is always friendly. No one here is ever irritated and they don’t treat me any different because of my situation,” says Janice. “I always feel comfortable. No one should ever feel ashamed of coming here. If you need help, just come.”

I am a single father with a son who has primary residence with me. A majority of the financial burden for him is mine. My son broke his arm over a year ago, and the break required surgery to have it reset with pins. As you can imagine, watching a child go through this pain is heart wrenching and also worrisome as I knew the medical bills would ensue.

During this period I also began to have indescribable panic attacks. My heart would elevate to 110 beats per minute while I was at rest. This was accompanied by heart palpitations, labored breathing, lightheadedness, confusion, and an overwhelming feeling of doom – almost like I was going to die. I was one who thought that panic attacks were “all in one’s head”. That was until I started having them myself. After multiple doctor’s visits and tests, a mass was found on my thyroid. Ultimately it was the cause for my unexplainable physical ailments and required removal through surgery.

These two combined incidents in such a short span of time put a large amount of stress on me emotionally and physically. I knew that as a single income parent it would take me a long time, possibly years, to pay off the various bills associated with two surgeries – even with insurance. Fortunately, the masses were benign and no further treatment has been needed.

I applied for the Staff Emergency Fund in September 2010 and was granted a $500 award. It has been just one year since these emergencies, and I am almost caught up with my medical bills. The burden was eased with the financial assistance that I received, and I am so grateful for the help.

In 1979, when I was 22 years old, I played volleyball every Thursday with a group of gay men at a park in the Montrose section of Houston, Texas. It was a very special fellowship, and it was my first exposure to a community where I felt accepted and safe and at ease. I wasn’t out to my family or my co-workers or to many of my friends. This band of young men was my only real peer group. After every game we would go out to dinner and then to one of the local gay bars for drinks.

Unknown to us, an epidemic was coming. Some were already sick, but no one knew why or how to treat them. Then they started to die. It was a sad and fearful time. And when it finally became newsworthy, the press called it GRID (Gay-Related Immune Deficiency). It wasn’t until the summer of 1981 that the CDC formally called it AIDS. There was no one to help—no resources, no agencies, nothing. Even if I had been financially able to contribute, there was no place to send the money.

AIDS Services of Austin (ASA) was founded in 1987 after years of volunteerism and activism by the LGBT community. In the early years of the epidemic, few outside that community were willing to step forward and help. Resources and money were limited. There was little to no support from local government, and none at all at the federal level. Luckily, times have changed, but there is still a great need. There is still no cure.

I remember a time when I was helpless to do anything. Now I can make a difference in the lives of others.

Q: When yougive to the Hearts of Texas campaign, do you have an organization that you support?

A: Communities In Schools, the nation’s largest dropout prevention organization, which sponsors many wonderful projects in Central Texas like the XY-Zone. The XY-Zone prepares young men to be successful academically and in life. The program is housed in seven local schools including Eastside Memorial, LBJ, Lanier, Crockett, Reagan, and Travis high schools. Each campus maintains a full-time caseworker who provides intensive case management services to each participant. The young men receive guidance, leadership development, academic support and opportunities to participate in service-learning projects.

Q: Why do you give to this program?

A: The XY-Zone is designed to help young men at risk who don’t have male role models in their lives to help them prepare for college. I know that these young men are getting the mentoring and coaching they need in order to become responsible members in their communities.

Q: What impact do you feel your donation is making?

A: When you meet the young men in the program they shake your hand, look at you in the eye, and they have purpose. Their lives might be very different without the support of the XY-Zone. I’m fortunate to have the resources to contribute and feel a personal connection to a worthwhile organization. I encourage each of you to join me in donating to a cause you are passionate about today.